1003. WHERE ELYSIA RESIDES

Jury had seen the shell that Elysia was trapped in. It was a part of her vision when she realized herself as Jury and as a separate entity from Elysia during the Nex Megalopolis’ Atelier War.

It was a black sphere, reminiscent of what contained the Captured Star.

And with what Cer had found here…

Elysia may be contained within the Advent of Despair, far within Deep Time

It is speculation, since Elysia seems to be able to interact with the outside world, hence the Eye of Elysia

“Elysia might still be trapped. And her Will would’ve been the only way to help people. But from what? Why is she saving people? Sorry, but I don’t understand what she wants.”

“I do not know. If it were so simple, then she could have made us fight outside of set times. Allow the Red Horseman to sweep through settlements indiscriminately under the shadow of the Nexus. Or the Black Horseman to allow a soul to perpetually rot? The Pale Horseman to annihilate those in search to reverse death?”

Elysia had imposed laws upon the Horsemen. For what reason was not known to them, other than that they must be obeyed.

“… I wonder if she knows what’s happening outside.”

“Her Will may, but Elysia may not.”

“Will you stop me if I one day come to seek her? We have the key.”

“I will not.” The Horseman tilted her head to the side, as if endorsing her. “We will not. Although…”

“Yes?”

The way she trailed off was suspicious. She clearly wanted to say more but stopped herself short. Instead, she cleared her throat in a dignified manner and took a graceful bow.

“When the time comes. It was a pleasure, Amalgam. I would be happy… Elysia would be happy if you were among the first to greet her. But it is a shame that Sinder is not alive.”

“A shame, yeah. Elysia loved him, huh?”

“She did. Greatly. Enough to want to turn the world upside down. How hard she tried. How much power she lost. Think about it. Elysia, in her prime when she had taken the Light of the Captured Star, was powerful enough to reset the world hundreds of thousands of times, restoring the lives of fallen Stars, Faux Angels… And all that power was spent trying to save a friend, and the world that friend tried to love.”

It as a graceful way to summarize Elysia’s devotion, and the type of person she was. Selfless to a fault, and did not know the ramifications of her actions she believed were helpful. The road to hell is paved with good intentions, as the saying went.

Lailah

Amalgam. I wish to divert resources and begin drafting a plan of action when we inevitably decide to descend into the Maw of the World

I will look into creating Ego-Crystalized Moons

Ego-Crystalized Beholders like Galia will also be useful in our expedition

It will take some time. Our priorities are still with the Impuritas. I doubt it will ever change until they are entirely eradicated

Please leave this one to me

Lailah was the first and only person who truly believed that Elysia was not evil, despite having been killed countless times by her. As an Archetype, she did not believe that Lailah was hiding her true intentions.

Rather, Frost gave Lailah her full trust in this mission.

I’ll leave it to you then. You’ve always been the caretaker for everyone, huh? Even until now. Did I ever thank you?

Lailah

It is a thankless role

Seeing everyone alive, and the seeds of Elysia’s efforts finally bear fruit, is more than enough thanks for me

The White Horseman gave Frost one last piece of advice before taking her leave.

“Do keep in mind that Elysia’s presence may be integral to how the world functions. It is rather odd that this world has not seen more dire versions of Corrupted. Faux Angels continue to be rare. Glimmers and Stars are unheard of.”

“I thought they didn’t know we were here?” Frost said.

“Not quite. There is one that has been giving people the ‘Mark’. Best that you prepare well. I am glad that you were what you are. Were it not for my restrictions, I would have annihilated that Aberration.”

The army of a million retreated into the portals. The moon shrunk as the Star Sigil above waned. The Horseman took a single step into her portal, but not without concluding with:

“In my honest opinion, Sinder would be proud of what you are. Saddened that you couldn’t have a simpler life. But happy that you did not turn out worse. Tell your Jury that the Galaxy Lance belongs to her now.”

“Galaxy Lance. So that’s the name of the weapon.”

The portal closed, and Frost was left standing in a barren, brown-stained desert.

“Haaaaah.” She deeply exhaled as she collapsed onto her back. “We have a lot more allies than we thought. Awesome. Elysia’s in the middle of this all as well. And we even know here she is. At the bottom of the Maw of the World and somewhere in Deep Time.”

Precisely. It will be a long road before we can attempt an expedition

But nonetheless, we have come out of this victorious

Do you think Elysia will be willing to join the Nexus?

“I think a lot of us are betting on that. Her Aberrations want her dead. I think Gabrella is trying to kill her too. Tch. Well… We’ve got a lot more on our plate. Once again. As usual.” Frost complained, but her voice was too upbeat to sound like one.

She was rather happy by the outcome.

You’re the Amalgam. Eating is your specialty

Save some for me

“Hungry too? There’ll be a lot to share. Burdens galore… Yeah. Lots of thing to think about. I remember lying down like this. On Earth. Feels strange knowing that it doesn’t belong to me. Or… I don’t know.”

Does it bother you? Do you need a pun?

“Nah. I think I was sort of ready for it. I’m more concerned about… my hunger. It’s been a while since I’ve felt that shaken. And it wasn’t even from an enemy. Does Jury have time?”

Aways for you

“… I kind of what to tell her what’s going on with my hunger. Before it gets worse. Still, to this day, I think back on what Carpalis said to me.”

Frost reminisced as she gazed up at the starless skies.

Then, trails of colorful stars formed as stary hairclips clung to her hair. She manifested Asterism, and she saw Homunculi gazing up at the skies with brighter eyes.

“We shouldn’t let emotions bottle up and blow over. I love Carpalis for that. We’ll hand her Rhyme as a present. Alright. Nav. We’re coming home.”

Not going to head to H9?

“Oh right! We’re supposed to still be on a date!”

Frost shot up, only just realizing this now.

“Er… We’ll head to H10 instead and check on Raoul. See if Carpalis is still there as well. Change of plans. I guess we can spend some time in H9. Though I think I know why Jury wanted to take me there.”

She hugged her knees and flushed red.

“Perv~”

Jury didn’t even do anything, yet she had eased Frost’s mind.

Knowing how much Jury cherished her – as Frost – thawed the icicles of concern around her heart.

“’My Frost’ she said. Hehe… Ah… I mean, ahem. You heard nothing Nav.”

I heard nothing

Nothing at all

‘hehe’

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